by Skye Jordan
“Me too.” I reach the center of the lake, but instead of turning toward the marina, I slow and cut the engine.
Chloe is smiling when she turns her head toward me. “Hoping for the perfect start to your year, handsome?”
I swivel in my seat to face her and press my elbows to my knees. “Planning, not hoping.”
She laughs. “Aren’t you cocky?”
I smile, but my chest is so tight, I can’t manage a laugh. “Um, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”
Her delayed reaction is probably from the champagne she had tonight, only one glass, but she rarely drinks, so she’s a lightweight.
She lifts her head and studies me. The nerves must show on my face, because she reaches out and takes my hand. “I’m listening.”
“You know how much I love you?”
“I think so,” she says, voice soft. “You know how much I love you?”
I smile. “I think so.” I take a deep breath. “When I first met you, I was wowed. Just blown away—by your beauty, your humor, your warmth. Over the last year and a half, I seem to fall more in love with you every day.”
She exhales, and her gaze goes soft. She lifts a hand to my jaw and leans in for a kiss. “You’re amazing.”
“Glad you think so.” I pull the pink velvet box from a nook beneath my seat and drop to one knee in the tiny space between the seats. “Because I’m hoping you’ll—” My heart speeds and skips. Come on, Wilde, get it out. “I hope you’ll marry me.”
I open the box and offer her the ring, one Laiyla and KT helped me pick out.
Chloe sits straight up and tents her hands over her nose and mouth. “Oh my God.”
She presses one hand to her chest. Her gaze skips to mine, as if she really can’t believe this is happening. I was sure she’d have guessed it was coming a while ago, but by the look on her face, she’s surprised, and I’m thrilled.
Her free hand reaches over and clamps down on my forearm. “Oh my God.” Her gaze fixes on mine. “Xavier…”
I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, but I wait semipatiently for her answer.
She surprises me by falling out of her seat to throw her arms around my neck, bringing a little relief.
Still holding the ring, I wrap her in my arms, slide onto the seat, and pull her into my lap. “Is that a yes?”
She laughs and kisses me and laughs some more. Then she looks me right in the eye. “Yes,” she finally says. “I can’t wait to marry you.”
The dam breaks, and relief and joy and love deeper than I ever imagined floods in. We kiss and hug and kiss some more before I can even get her to look at the ring again.
“Where did you get a pink velvet box?” she asks. “I’ve never seen one.”
“Me either.” I take the ring from the box. “When they gave it to me in a black box, I have no idea why, but I asked if they had any other colors, and she pulled out this one, said it was a fluke they got in their last order, the only pink one in the lot. And I know you like pink, so…”
I shrug, then slide the ring on her finger. I thought this moment would scare the crap out of me. Instead, it fills all my empty spaces. It completes me.
“If you want something different, we can take it back and—”
She fists her hand and jerks it away with a gasp. “Don’t you dare try to get this ring off my finger.” Then she holds her hand out, admiring the diamond in the moonlight again, and grins as she wraps her arms around my neck. “At least not for a hundred years or so.”
I laugh, pull her close, savor all the emotions I’d begun to believe I wasn’t capable of. I frame her beautiful face before kissing her again. “I guess a hundred years will do.”
Also by Skye Jordan
WILDFIRE LAKE SERIES
In Too Deep
Going Under
Swept Away
THE WRIGHTS SERIES
So Wright
Damn Wright
Must be Wright
MANHUNTERS SERIES
Grave Secrets
No Remorse
RENEGADES SERIES:
Reckless
Rebel
Ricochet
Rumor
Relentless
Rendezvous
Riptide
Rapture
QUICK & DIRTY COLLECTION:
Dirtiest Little Secret
WILDWOOD SERIES:
Forbidden Fling
Wild Kisses
ROUGH RIDERS HOCKEY SERIES:
Quick Trick
Hot Puck
Dirty Score
Wild Zone
COVERT AFFAIRS SERIES:
Intimate Enemies
First Temptation
Sinful Deception
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About the Author
Skye Jordan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels. She was born and raised in California and has recently been transplanted to Northern Virginia.
She left her challenging career in sonography at UCSF Medical Center to devote herself to writing full time, but still travels overseas on medical missions to teach sonography to physicians. Most recently, she traveled to Ethiopia and Haiti.
Skye and her husband are coming up on their thirty year wedding anniversary and have two beautiful daughters. A lover of learning, Skye enjoys classes of all kinds, from knitting to forensic sculpting. She is an avid rower and spends many wonderful hours on the Potomac with her amazing rowing club.
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You can find Skye online here:
Skye’s Starlets | Website | Email